7.  The applicant, Mária Jablonská, is a Slovak national of Polish origin. She was born in 1921 in Warsaw and lives in Senec, Slovakia.
8.  Before the Second World War the applicant’s parents had title to a house in Warsaw. By virtue of an edict of 26 October 1945, all land in Warsaw was nationalised and they were allocated a flat in Warsaw. Later, they requested the administrative authorities to grant them a right of perpetual lease (prawo wieczystej dzierżawy) of their house. On 10 July 1951 the Warsaw National Council (Rada Narodowa) refused their request. After the death of the applicant’s parents, she, being the sole heir to the property, sought restitution of, or compensation for, loss of property.
9.  By a notarial deed of 4 December 1989 the Warsaw-Mokotów District Office (Urząd Dzielnicowy) granted a married couple, Mr S. and Mrs G.-S. the so-called “right of perpetual use” (prawo użytkowania wieczystego) of the property that had once belonged to the applicant’s parents. Mr S. and Mrs G.-S. claimed to have been legal successors of the applicant’s parents under a contract transferring title to the estate, a contract which had been allegedly concluded in 1967.
10.  On 17 February 1992 the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Wojewódzki) filed an action with the Warsaw Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) against Mr S. and Mrs G.-S. and the Warsaw-Mokotów District Office, seeking to have the notarial deed of 4 December 1989 declared null and void.
11.  By a notarial deed of 30 March 1992 Mr S. and Mrs G.-S. sold the property to a certain Ms J.P.
12.  On 3 April 1992 the applicant filed an action with the Warsaw Regional Court against Mr S. and Mrs G.-S., seeking the annulment of the notarial deed of 4 December 1989.
13.  On 23 June 1992 the court ordered that the action brought by the Regional Prosecutor and the one brought by the applicant be joined. On 7 May 1997 the proceedings were terminated by the judgment of the Warsaw Court of Appeal declaring the notarial deed of 4 December 1989 null and void.
14.  On 5 November 1992 the applicant sued Ms J.P., Mr S. and Mrs G.‑S. before the Warsaw Regional Court. She asked that the notarial deed of 30 March 1992 concluded between Ms J.P. and two other defendants be declared null and void (see paragraph 11 above).
15.  On 13 November 1992 the court exempted the applicant from court fees.
16.  On 18 November 1992 the court secured the applicant’s claim and listed the first hearing for 18 January 1993.
17.  On 13 May 1993 the Regional Court stayed the proceedings under Article 177 § 1 (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure. It considered that the determination of the case depended on the outcome of the proceedings brought against Mr S. and Mrs G.-S. (see paragraphs 10-13 above and paragraph 27 below).
18.  On 19 September 1997 the applicant asked the trial court to resume the proceedings. On the same day she complained to the Minister of Justice about their excessive length.
19.  The proceedings were resumed on 30 September 1997. 
A hearing listed for 5 February 1998 was, however, adjourned, as the defendants were not present. The court ordered them to present a justification for their absence. A further hearing, which was to be held on 2 June 1998, was adjourned at the request of the applicant’s lawyer. On the same day the court asked the Warsaw District Court to supply a file of a criminal case pending before that court and ordered the defendants to produce further documentary evidence.
20.  On 30 July 1998 the applicant’s counsel asked the court not to fix any hearings between 3 and 12 August 1998 and between 7 and 19 September 1998 because she would be on holiday on those dates.
21.  On 25 November 1998 the court asked the Warsaw District Court to supply an extract from the mortgage register kept for the property in question.
22.  Two further hearings listed, respectively, for 23 June 1999 and 27 March 2000 were adjourned; the first due to the defendants’ absence, the second one at the defendants’ request.
23.  On 10 April 2000 the applicant again complained to the Minister of Justice about the delay in the proceedings. On 15 June 2000 the Minister acknowledged that that the proceedings were indeed lengthy and apologised to the applicant. He also stated that all the measures so far taken to counteract the unreasonable delay in the proceedings were ineffective and instructed the President of the Warsaw Court of Appeal to supervise the conduct of the trial.
24.  On 12 July 2000 the Warsaw Regional Court held a hearing and heard evidence from the defendants. On 26 July 2000 it gave judgment declaring the contested notarial deed null and void. The defendants appealed. Subsequently, they asked the court to exempt them from court fees.
25.  On 10 July 2001 the Warsaw Court of Appeal held a hearing. On 24 July 2001 it quashed the first-instance judgment and dismissed the applicant’s claim.
26.  The applicant lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) on 30 October 2001. The Prosecutor of Appeal (Prokurator Apelacyjny) filed a cassation appeal on her behalf on 31 October 2001. The appeals were dismissed on 23 October 2002.